Four flies for #FridayFlyDay which I photographed in the back yard yesterday.
Genus Zacompsia (I think)--a picture-winged fly in the family Ulidiida. Neotephritis finalis
(Sunflower Seed Maggot fly)--a species of fruit fly in the family Tephritidae. Genus Elachiptera--genus of frit flies in the family Chloropidae (larvae feed on grasses). Cylindromyia intermedia--a species of bristle fly in the family Tachinidae.
A pair of oxythirea funesta beetles celebrating the arrival of spring on a Photinia serratifolia flower.
iPhone 15 Pro main camera + the lens of binoculars used as reading glasses for close focusing.
Una pareja de escarabajos oxythirea funesta celebrando la primavera sobre una flor de Photinia serratifolia.
Ein Paar Oxythirea funesta-Käfer feiert den Frühlingsanfang auf einer Photinia serratifolia-Blüte.
#macro #macrolens #macrophotography
#insects #beetle #animals #nature
#oxythireafunesta
Large pine weevil 
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The spruce bark beetle (Hylobius abietis) grows up to 1.4 cm long and is mainly found in coniferous forests.
Fichtenrüsselkäfer . Der Fichtenrüsselkäfer (Hylobius abietis) wird bis zu 1,4 cm lang und kommt vor allem in Nadelwäldern vor.
(no Exifdata)
I prefer to have a species identification on the photographs I post, but this one is more of a PSA: take lots of pics and don't throw any away, because you never what angle an expert on iNaturalist or BugGuide might need to make the call. I *think* this might be Ceratina calcarata (a carpenter bee), but it turns out one of the diagnostic characters is a triangular swelling on the hind femur, something (of course) I didn't know at the time. A frame that I'd normally trash (right pic) shows it. #inaturalist #bugguide #bees #dandelion #taxonomy #insects #macrophotography
There are monsters around! With my luck re pests in my plant nursery this year (still fighting the fungus gnats infestation with SP nematodes, sea algae soaks, fans, UV "mosquito lamp" and lots and lots of sticky tape) this #CraneFly is most likely one of the #Tipulidae that are considered pests in Europe (is it Tipula paludosa?) as their larvae attack seedling roots and stems. Which is exactly what fungus gnat larvae were doing already so... [insert random profanities].
About photos, pardon the odd colours as this crane fly thought to rest under my full-spectrum LEDs on a chili plant and it's being illuminated by, well, all colours of the rainbow really.
# After the rain
Heavy rain last night but stopped (mostly) raining early this morning. Photo taken using a vintage (well, was new when bought) Canon manual focus macro lens on a Panasonic micro-four-thirds system camera. With a tripod. I love my old Canon FD lenses and they were a key contributing factor in my decision to buy the Panasonic when it came out (2008?).
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